$5 Family Meals | FIVE Quick & Easy Cheap Dinner Recipes Made EASY!
For more great Instant Pot recipes, please visit InstantPotEasy.com
If you’re struggling, consider therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp. Click https://betterhelp.com/frugalfit for a 10% discount on your …
ME!! I don’t like black beans. I don’t care what you put them in I don’t care even if you put sugar on them I don’t like black beans. Don’t ask me why I just don’t like them!
Is your finger still not well? Oh I hope it will soon be I’m sure you’re getting tired of showing off your latest fashion of Band-aids! I like the blue one!
It’s another way for the colleges to earn revenue. This along with extremely high dorm rooms they have you coming and going! My son was able to live off campus and buy his own food literally saved me 1/2 of what the university would charge! Most countries in Europe charge little to nothing for college educations. They see the value in having an educated society. America? Not so much, sad really!
I about cut the top of my finger off on a table saw. I still have nerve issues and that was two years ago.
Yes!! Duel enrollment is amazing, if the child is ready. Washington's program is called Running Start and basically free (fees and books are not included). My son graduated with both his AA and high school diploma at the same time. He then went to a university and received his degree in 2.5 years. He was able to come out debt free with the money he saved and some help from us. We'll worth it!
I was literally cutting up coleslaw cabbage with a mandolin when I heard your warning. Let’s just say I continued very cautiously!
My favourite nickname for mandolins is kitchen devils😊
i graduated college this past may. my senior year of high school i enrolled in dual credit courses with the local community college. i took them during normal class hours at my high school and they were taught by my high school teachers. it was super nice. i had 15 hours of credits done before i went to that community college to get my associates. it made transferring for my bachelors so much easier, especially because i transferred during the peak of covid. your son was super smart for wanting to take up that opportunity. it was easily one of the best decisions i made those 5 years of college.
Get well Christine n b encouraged!
That was one of the main reasons I moved off campus as soon as I could, the meal plan was the same as the cost of rent!
My son goes to a state school and his meal plan was more than 2600.
OMG! holy knife!!!! 😂
I work at a public university, my work study students complain about the meal plan all the time. If you live in campus it is required to have – no matter what. And these are work study students, which means they’ve already demonstrated some kind of financial need. Higher education needs to shape up, and soon.
My son starts dual enrollment as a homeschooler in the fall. We're very excited that it's an option since we will be a family with multiple kids in college at the same time.
People should check their ERP if their work offers it. I had a difficult time due to a diagnosis, and it was helpful to have an in person therapist
These are not $5 family meals, why do you clickbait?
2018 = ~$3200 a semester
We watched flies hatch out of the "fresh" fruit at the salad bar once. State Schools are a rip
It’s about $6-8 just for my 8th grader to get hot lunch at school
So that sounds accurate unfortunately
Meals plans are EXTREMELY expensive. However, when in college, even if you live off campus, it can be really expensive to feed yourself. I've been in college since 2018 (currently getting my masters degree) and it is difficult to feed yourself for cheap. Trying to figure out how to be an effective student in college, make friends, have fun, and learn how to be an adult is hard enough without worrying about the cost of food or knowing how to cook it. My sophomore year of college I spend about 400 per month on food because I was so stressed at college with school and trying to be an adult. Honestly the meal plans are expensive but can take off a lot of stress that comes with grocery shopping and cooking for yourself. Also, it saves you money in some ways with not needing a car at college (no insurance, or gas). I'm glad I had the meal plan as a freshman and happy when I didn't have to pay 2,500 dollars for food per semester.
The private university I went to on the east coast of Canada currently charges about $6400 for unlimited meals, so it works out to $8.88 a meal. Considering it is effectively restaurant food – that’s not that bad. It’s an all you can eat (or smuggle out in your pants) plan too. Of course it’s far cheaper to cook yourself but I loved not having to deal with the thinking, shopping and prep. The food was just there when I was ready for it!
My oldest did concurrent enrollment. she graduated HS last spring and is in her second semester of college and has 3 more after this. 🙂
I'm a 42 year old returning student. The minimum meal plan for me because I live off campus is $275/semester
In Tennessee, kids can get two years of community college tuition free. Super idea from former governor Bill Haslam.
As someone who went to a private university that’s considered hard to get into, I can confirm they squeeze as much money out of you as possible with meal plans. My school forced all freshman to purchase the unlimited (most expensive) meal plan and even as upperclassmen living off campus we were forced to have a meal plan of some kind. Even though I lived off campus, the cheapest possible meal plan I could purchase was $400 per semester. Sure wish I could’ve just used that money towards my tuition/rent/books instead!
What are they serving in that dining hall, filet mignon? 🤪 J/K I remember my college meal plan being crazy expensive, and that was 20 years ago.
🍓
We always look forward to cold weather food specifically for the chilis and soups. It's so easy to make large pots of food for relatively little money.
I'm very much a homemade pancake mix kind of guy – I make them pretty much every weekend — but I will grab the clearance mixes on occasion. Like I just recently made some pumpkin spice pancakes from a box mix that I'm sure came out in the fall so I got like 75%-90% off. It took a few tries but my whole family loves my pancakes, and I frequently make variants with extra protein or fiber or fruit or whatever.
I'm also a homemade pasta sauce fan, too, because I can make much more than that jar, and I use the leftovers for homemade pizza.
Our only other go-to cheap meal you didn't cover here is burrito bowls. Of course it can get expensive but the core is dry rice, dry beans, sauteed onions and peppers, and tomatoes/salsa. You can add cheese, meat, tortillas, avocado/guac, corn, sour cream, hot sauce, etc, though of course the more you add the more expensive it gets. I made some really good lentil taco "meat" recently that was quite cheap and quite good.
Put a marshmallow in your brown sugar it will keep it soft better than bread.
The meal plan is ridiculous considering many if those kids are just eating cereal and chicken nuggets
👍👍👍👍👍👍
That cookiebar recipe looks so great!! And the chicken and mash potatoes too, you can never go wrong with that combo! 😊😊
The pancakes with bacon seem a strange combo to me, I've never done that before.
I remember going through college. I received grants and aids due to my parents financial status at the time. The more your children can do with having to be local, online or at home for the least amount of money will not be the most fun all of the time. I just told my coworker this. I graduated from a local community college with an AAS for my degree. I then became an intern for a little pay each hour, then got hired from the same company that I was an intern for. Looking back on my 19 year old self. I wouldn't change anything I did. I have friends that have so much debt from college by being out of state or at a fancy campus instead of getting a technical degree. They are SUPER jealous of me and not having any student loan or college debts. I was a work study, did college tours, and worked off campus as well as a full work load. Please anyone reading this. Just like Christine keeps saying. Temporary struggles are just temporary. Just because you have a rice and beans budget and not as much fancy fun traveling and doing all these expensive things. This will allow you to hit your goals sooner. I specifically asked my boss as well if she would help pay for shirts to wear to the office and she does that for me. I can afford it yes, but it's less of a burden. Just take advantage of assistance and ask, ask, ask the worst thing someone can say when you are trying to be frugal is no. LOVE YOUR CHANNEL!!
I teach at a high school in Iowa and our district offers FREE concurrent enrollment classes through our community college in town. I teach 2 of those courses in the health science pathway. My oldest daughter graduated from high school with 38 college credits that she got for free. (Many of them transferred as electives because she went to a nursing school that required students to take their nursing classes.) I do not think our students understand how fortunate they are to have that opportunity here.
Omg best idea of the year: grind up the nuts. My kids freak if the see nuts in cookies or banana bread.
With the coconut curry chicken, is it OK to use a can of coconut milk with ground curry???
I bought a package of 6 chicken thighs for $1.86 they were within best biy date. Last week I bought a package of 2 chicken thighs for just $.74. Again in date. Look for clearance and sale items to add your pantry and freezer.
Keep in mind the $650/ month cost of meal plan covers not just food but also staff, electricity, fuel for cooking, water. If, they can do a 2 meal plan and have a microwave or access to a kitchen – we had one in my dorm in the basement that was rarely used, her daughter could save money. Or, if she does not have a kitchen to access or a microwave is nit allowed then a coffee pot to make soup, Mac and Cheese, sandwich items or salad items, hot Cocoa, instant coffee Oatmeal in packets instant, crackers so on
The meal plan was a scam. I went to a university in a small town and the cafeteria wasn't even open on weekends. The food was high school cafeteria quality and made as cheaply as possible. I moved off of campus just to get ride of food and dorm costs.
I went to a private university and my food bill was about that high too. It was a lot but like someone else said, you basically eat a restaurant every day so its fine
That chili looks sooooo good
I didn't really push my son (which I regret) so between dual enrollment and AP classes, he only knocked off 1 semester. I really wish I had pushed him more…he is not a self starter, but rises to the occasion with a boot in his rear. I did send him to the community college he dual enrolled in and he finished his associates in 3 semesters while he figured out what he wanted to major in. He's now in his second semester at a local university and doing well. One more year to go and my last chicken is done!